The Tennessee Supreme Court today appointed former judges D. Kelly Thomas and Vanessa Agee Jackson as new senior judges for the state. They will take office on Sept. 1. Thomas replaces Judge Thomas Wright, who is stepping down from the bench, for a term of two years. He has more than 30 years of judicial experience, having served on the Court of Criminal Appeals from 2006-2022 and as a circuit court judge in the Fifth Judicial District from 1990-2006. Jackson is being appointed for a term of four years. She previously was a circuit court judge in the 14th Judicial District from 2009-2022. Under Tennessee law, the court may appoint senior judges when one or more judicial districts require additional resources and the appointment will promote the effective administration of justice.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee received a warm farewell from colleagues and friends during a retirement dinner held by the Bradley County Bar Association last week, the Cleveland Banner reports. The dinner, held at the Museum & Cultural Center Friday, honored Lee for her years of judicial service, including as the state’s first female chief justice from 2014 to 2016. Lee is retiring from the court tomorrow. A number of events across the state this month have honored her work.

Gov. Bill Lee is calling his special-called legislative session on public safety a success that is giving him hope for the future of Tennessee, WSMV reports. He also said that while he does not have a plan for legislation he wants lawmakers to pass when they reconvene in January, he wants to keep talking about ways to keep Tennesseans safe. “This has been an important week for Tennessee, a difficult week, but a week that’s hopeful,” he said. In a video statement released last night, Lee thanked Tennesseans, especially family members from the Covenant School, for engaging in efforts to strengthen safety across the state. He also highlighted the four bills that passed the General Assembly during the special session, saying, “Significant funding was focused on issues that matter to public safety. We improved the background check system, attacked human trafficking, made more access for safe storage. We funded mental health resources across the state. We made progress.”

Judge Thomas J. Wright, who has served as a senior judge for the last two years, will join Collins Shipley PLLC on Sept. 1, the Citizen Tribune reports. According to a release from the Greeneville personal injury firm, Wright will focus on litigation and alternative dispute resolution services. Wright was named a senior judge in 2021. He previously was a circuit court judge for the Third Judicial District from 2006 to 2021 and served as Greene County General Sessions and Juvenile Court judge from 1998 to 2006. He also was the federal defender in Greeneville and spent a number of years in private practice. The Greeneville Sun has more on his decision to move into private practice.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating the death of 70-year-old Thomas Earl Williams at the Shelby County Jail, the Commercial Appeal reports. According to the paper, it was not clear why Williams was in jail and his case did not appear in the Shelby County Criminal Justice Portal or the Shelby County Inmate Lookup database. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail, confirmed Williams' death, but said it could not comment further due to the investigation. Since 2016, there have been at least 52 deaths at the jail, which includes a sharp increase in deaths and mortality rates over the last three years, the paper reports.

A new study at the University of Minnesota found that low-performing law students scored 45% higher on final exams when given access to artificial intelligence, reports Reuters. Researchers compared the final exam scores of 48 students in two courses: Introduction to American Law and Legal Reasoning and Insurance Law. The students first took the final without AI, then took a different final using GPT-4, the latest large language model from Open AI. They found that GPT-4, which produces human-like text based on user prompts, vastly improved student performance on multiple-choice questions. Higher performing student scores were about 20% lower when using GPT-4. The use of GPT-4 did not improve essay scores in either group.

3M has agreed to pay $6 billion to settle over 250,000 lawsuits that accuse the company of selling defective combat earplugs that caused hearing loss in hundreds of thousands of military service members. Reuters reports the deal was announced today after a failed attempt by 3M to move the lawsuits, which are currently the largest mass tort litigation in U.S. history, into bankruptcy court. Combat Arms earplugs were made by Aearo Technologies, a company 3M acquired in 2008. The earplugs were used by the U.S. military from 2003 to 2015, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. A U.S. judge dismissed Aearo’s recent bankruptcy claim, noting that Aearo, as a subsidiary of 3M, enjoys a "greater degree of financial security than warrants bankruptcy protection."

The Rutherford County Library Board has ordered four books pulled from shelves following a recently-adopted Murfreesboro community decency standards ordinance and a Tennessee General Assembly law that requires children be protected from sexual descriptions, reports the Tennessean. During a contentious meeting, the board voted to remove the young adult books "Flamer" by Mike Curato, "Let's Talk About It" by Erika Moen, "Queerfully & Wonderfully Made" edited by Leigh Finke and "This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson. Library card members can still gain access online to the materials because the state law and city ordinance does not govern internet access. In June, Murfreesboro City Council members agreed to an ordinance that includes punishments for violators exposing children on any city property to "public expressions appealing to prurient interests or that are offensive to prevailing community standards."

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced his office has reached a settlement with Auburn Hills Mobile Home Park to resolve the state’s suit alleging the park took advantage of residents in violation of state and federal law. Shortly after a deadly tornado in April 2020, allegations emerged that park managers were holding charitable donations intended for residents. Further investigation revealed the park failed to address severe septic issues that caused raw sewage to pool on the ground and back up into homes in addition to other charges. The settlement requires the defendants to develop a sewer system and secures $750,000 to go toward consumer restitution, civil penalties and litigation costs. Affected consumers will be contacted soon regarding restitution payments.  

Several law firms involved in a suit against the U.S. government over tainted drinking water at a Marine Corps base are being sued for violating the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), reports Reuters. Violations of the TCPA can result in damages of up to $1,500 per unwanted call or text. The litigation over Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, is emerging as one of the largest mass tort actions in U.S. history. Over 1,000 federal lawsuits and 93,000 administrative claims have been filed so far on behalf of victims. The U.S. government has estimated its total payout could amount to more than $20 billion.